Interior Panels, Rosen Visor, Door Interiors

Today was a short day, but I was able to get a few things done and realized a few additional to-dos. I started by installing the nutplates on the aft door vertical. These will hold the front of the passenger side panels. I also installed a nutplate on the right side passenger upright support for the aft portion of the panel. I installed the panels with screws to make sure it all fit and to make sure I had adequate hardware. I can easily remove them as I do additional wiring work. I also realized once I got the rear panels installed that the panels are just a little too “off” color from the paint we used. So I think I will wind up painting these, but at least I got them fitted and installed.

I attempted to relocate the rear heat SCAT tube but connecting it to the left duct but it gets in the way there as well. So I will go back to routing it the cross-member and see about some chaff protection and securing it in place.

I started on the left forward (pilot) interior panel as well today. This one took some adjusting to get it to fit. There was a rear flange on the panel that needed to be trimmed down. In my case, I trimmed it completely flush with the panel. I also had to cut and dremmel out the bottom of the forward door arm I had filled it. I lined it all up and outlined what needed to be cut and trimmed out. I am going to find a rubber grommet or trim to finish out this area.

I also had to cut to clear the front NACA vent and drill several screw mounting holes. I made one mistake and missed a cross member when I was drilling. So I will need to fill this before I paint. Luckily it’s down low where no one will ever see it once it’s all buttoned up.

I received some high density, water-proof neoprene I ordered. My intent is to use this as a makeshift gasget to fill the door hinge pockets. Once the hines are installed, I will cut this to size and slide in and leave flush with the door pocket. This will prevent dirt, water and debris from collecting in there and still allow future service. The foam is 3/4″ and seems to fill the area nicely.

I cleaned up the right door lock access panel area since the epoxy had cured. I cut a panel door and wrapped it in tape as well as the area arounding the opening. I mixed up some 407 Lightweight filler and filled the gaps. This should make the opening a perfect fit for the door

I sanded the left door some more with 60 grit to hit all the areas I patched with the lightweight filler the day before. Once it was done, I set up the paint table and shot it with three coats of High Builder 2K Primer to start the process of finishinging the door. There are a LOT of pinholes, as I didn’t do the epoxy coat like I did on the other door.

I started work on finishing the door transitions. I used some of the lightweight filler and filled in the forward left door area. I will eventually sand this and make the door smoothly transition into the fuselage and then the area will get painted to match.

I installed the pilot side rosen visor and you can’t even notice the area where I accidently drilled during the nut installation, so it was a success.

I came back to the right side door and pulled the panel out. After I quickly cleaned it up the door is a better match, but not nearly as good as I would like. I am going to let it finish curing and see if I will do it again to get the missing areas to try another approach. Not sure if this will be the thing that pushes me to do some upholstery on the door interior or not.